Homemade Chewy Caramels
Ingredients
- 1 cup real dairy butter
- 2 cups white sugar
- 1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup whipping cream about 35% MF cream
- 1 cup dark corn syrup
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
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Lightly grease a 9x13 pan and line it fully with parchment paper.
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Melt the butter over medium low heat in a large saucepan. This mixture foams up as it boils so a pan about 4 litres is good.
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Add all the remaining ingredients, EXCEPT the vanilla extract.
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Bring to a slow rolling boil over medium low to medium heat. Stir occasionally to ensure nothing is settling or sticking to the bottom of the pan.
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Take readings on the candy thermometer at several points during the next 25-30 minutes or until the mixture reaches 245 to 248 degrees F. DO NOT GO PAST THIS POINT! (See notes) Don't worry if it takes longer than 25-30 minutes. The temperature is what's import, not the time.
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Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
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Carefully pour the candy mixture into the parchment lined pan. Be very, very careful when pouring the caramel. This mixture is very very hot and will cause an immediate contact burn. Best keep little ones out of the kitchen while making this recipe.
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Place the pan of caramels on a wire rack and cool completely at room temperature. I prefer to leave it overnight.
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Cut into 1 inch squares and wrap in little squares of parchment paper or wax paper. Store in an airtight container.
Recipe Notes
Be very, very careful when pouring the caramel. This mixture is very very hot and will cause an immediate contact burn. Best keep little ones out of the kitchen while making this recipe.
A candy thermometer, or one that goes to about 250 degrees F at least is going to be essential for this recipe but in a pinch, you just might get away with the ice water test. That's where you jeep a bowl of very cold ice water next to the stove and drop about a half tsp of the mixture into the cold water when you want to test it. The cold water chills the sugar almost immediately, so after about 30 seconds, you can retrieve the little ball of caramel from the water. At this point you can squeeze between your thumb and forefinger and get a pretty good idea of what the consistency of the finished candies will be.
The one real caution is that you should keep in mind is to watch the caramel carefully toward the end of the cooking time. If the mixture goes to 250 degrees or higher, the caramel will turn hard. The temperature of the caramel mixture always determines the final texture of the candy. Your final temperature should be somewhere between 245-248 degrees F. The hotter the mixture, the firmer the final caramel candies.
The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.